Engine-starter.



c To 'lill whom it may concern.:

` UNITED sTnTEs l,PATENT oEEioE.

.r1-incr w. nnnGxINsoN; ,or Boomsma, 'NEW 'zo-nx, AssreNon 'or ONE-HALFTo noon c. Lenmar, or ROCHESTER., new roux.

ENGINE-STARTER.

Be it known that I, Pinoy W. IODGKIN- son, a citizenof the UnitedStates, and resi-v dent of Rochester, in thecounty of Monroe and- Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine`Startevs, of which the fol-lowing is I a specicatien;

This invention relates to engine-starting devices'of the. type in 'whichan electric-mo.- tor is employei'this motor having a rotary element .orarmature which is combined with g the fly-wheel lofv the engine, whilethe latter is connected with the crank-shaft of the eni sition, so asnot substantially to modi A vthe ine by means of a clutch which rmit'sthe y-wheel tobe thrown into rapid rotation while the crank shaft isstationary', and then coupled with the 'crank-shaft soas to start enineby means of the momentum which 'e lywheel has acquired.

Il-he object of thev invention is to produce an apparatus of the type inquestion which be. simple, compact in construction, and ecientinlmperatiom and `in which the-iiywheel is jounaled concentric with andsup-4 ported upon the crank-shaft in the usual e general form andoperation of the engine.' To Itheforegoing end the invention consista'-in the enginefstarter hereinafter de# scribed, as it is defined inthesucceeding claims.

Y In the accompanying drawings z--Figure 1 is a vertical section of an'engine-starter.

embodying the present invention; Fig. 21 is an end-elevation thereof,looking from right to left in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a diagram,

illustrating particularly the electrical connections by which theelectric motor employed as a prime-mover is controlledL In theillustrated embodiment of the invention the element of which themomentum is employed to produce the starting-moveL ment of thecrank-shaft is in the form of a y-wheel 5, which is mounted upon thecrank-shaft 6 of the engine in the position of the usual Vily-wheel.This fly-wheel is not, however, rigid with the crank-shaft, but ismounted upon ball-bearings 7 so ,that during the starting-operation itmay rotate freely while the crank-shaft remains at rest. Fixed to therim of the ily-wheel 5 is the i armature 8 of the multi-polar electricmotor employed as a prime mover. The form and construction of theAarmature and of the Specification of Letters Patent. Application iledFebruary 3, w13. smal m.. 675,3

lis then necessary to connect the an adjusting-screw 27.

Patented 18,1913.-

oiiher parts of the electric motor are not` particularly illustrated anddescribed, as any ordinary or suitable type of motor may be used, butthe armature is illustrated as connected withia commutato'r 9 mountedupon the hub: 0i the flywheel, while a eld-member 10' is located withinand adjacent to the polar' extremities-of thel armature, this fieldsupported by arms 11 fixed to the end of the-crank-case 12 of theengine. Comi 'mutatonbrushes 13K of any ordinary or suitable form arealsosupported by one oi the arms 11, asshown in Fig. 1. v

Bymeans of the electric motor the ily- 'wheel may be caused to rotatefreely with .Increasing velocity, until it has accumulated sufficientmomentum to start the e `ne. It

suddenly and, firmly to the crank-shaft, to impart the momentum of theily-wheel thereto, and to this end I empioy, in the preferred embodimentod the invention, a friction- `clutch of the expanding-ring type. The

rim of the ily-wheel is. provided with an annular clutclrsurface 14,which cooperates i with a vdivided clutch-ring 15. Secured to thecrank-shaft Gby a key 19 and' a nut 20 is a hub 16,"from which project'two arms 17,

connected by a rim 18 upon which the two -members of the clutch-ring 15.are carried.

Each member 15 is provided with twd'pins y-wheel 'sesv 21, which passloosely through openings inf the riml8 and are surrounded by compres,'sioms'prings 22 which tend normally to draw the clutch-members 15.inwardly, away from the surfacev 14. The members 15 are provided, attheir adjacent ends, with shoulders 23, between which are square cams24.

.Each cam is fixed to a rock-shaft 25 journaled in one of the arms 17,and an arm 26 is fixed toeach rock-shaft and projects inwardly, beingprovided at its inner end with The screws 27 cooperate with a conicalmember 28, which is slidably mounted on a sleeve 29 'project-ing fromthe nut 20. Bly means of a ring 30, seated in an annular groove in themember 28, the latter may be shifted in a left-hand direction from theposition shown in Fig. 1, in which case the screws 27 and the arms 26are swung outwardly, thus rocking the cams 24 and forcing theclutch-members 15 outwardly and into rictional engagement with theclutch-surface 14. By this action the fly-wheel is firmly connected withthe crank- .los

i-shaft, so .that its momentum is' suddenly i scribed, so th'atthetransferred to the latter. During the normal operation oflthe engine theclutch lremains inthe operative condition just deusual functions.

-AS shown in Fig. 3, the ringao sprovided with pins31 engaging slots inaV lever 32 this leverconstituting a manually-operable device by whichthe starting-apparatus 'maybe thrown into and out o operation. In thisfigure one terminal of the electric motor is shown 'as connected,through a wire 33, with a terminal of a storage-battery 41,by'which'current is supplied to operate the motor'. The othertermmal ofthe motor is connected, through wires 34 and 35, with an automaticcut-out 36, of any ordinary or suitable form which normally prevents return-flowv of current from the batte through the motor. As devices ofthis kind are well known, the construction is not particularlyillustrated and described. The circuit through the battery, the motor,and the cut-out is completed by wires 37 and 38, leading to the otherterminal of the battery.

This arrangement permits the motor to.

operate normally, that is, during the normal operation of the engine, asa generator by which the storage-battery may be recharged; and thearrangement is also adapted for use in connection with an electriclightingsystem or any other translating devices energized by thestorage-battery. When the engine'is to be started the operation of theautomatic cut-outJ 36 is interrupted by closing a short-circuit aroundit, thus permitting vvcurrent from the battery .to iiow through themotor. To this end the wires 34 and 38 .are shown as connected,respectively, with the contact-finger 39 and the fixed contact 40 of acircuit-closer, the contact-finger being connected with the handlever32. Accordingly, when this lever is shifted -to the position shown inFig. 3, so

as to disconnect the iy-wheel from the ily-wheeln performs thecrank-shaft, the short-circuitin question is closed, and the electricmotor thereuponl operates to rotate the fly-Wheel, as above de scribed.When the hand-lever is shifted back to lnormal position theshort-circuit is i opened. In case the starting-operation is notsuccessful at the first attempt, it may be repeated indefinitely.

My invention is not limited to the' embodiment thereof hereinbeforedescribed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but may beembodied in various other forms within the nature of the invention asvit is' defined vin the following claims. I claimz- 1. An engine-startercomprising, in combination with the crank-case and the crankshaft of theengine, a wheel of substantial weight journaled concentric with andsup.-

res'pect thereto, said wheel including the ro- -tary element of anelectric motor, clutchmechanism for connecting said wheel lwith thecrank-shaftl whereby the wheel is adapted to operate as a fly-wheel forthe engine,

and a fixed element for said motor mounted upon the crank-case andcoperating with' the rotary element.

2. Anengine-starter having, in combina- 65 ported by. said shaftbut'free to rotate with g .i

tion with the crank-case and the crankshaft of an engine, a"wheel ofsubstantial with the crank-shaft so that the wheel may operate as afly-wheel for'the engine, and a fixed element for said motormounted uponthe crank-case and coperating with the rotary element.

PEROY W. HODGrKINSON.l Y

Witnesses:

D. GURNEE, THON. Y

